Lugano Diamonds Finds a Buyer

Lugano Diamonds’ store in Greenwich, Connecticut. The jewelry retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2025 and has since found a buyer.

Newport Beach, Calif.—Lugano Diamonds & Jewelry Inc. has found a buyer following its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in November.

The retailer had reached an agreement with Enhanced Retail Funding to help continue operations during the sale process. The investment firm also served as the stalking-horse bidder while Lugano hunted for a buyer, meaning it submitted the bid that served as the baseline for the sale process.

Enhanced Retail Funding ultimately was the buyer, as per a Dec. 20 court filing.

The sale was approved on Dec. 31, with Lugano stating the company provided “the highest or otherwise best offer.” The amount of the bid was not disclosed.

Enhanced Retail Funding is a division of Boston-based Gordon Brothers. Founded in 1903, the investment firm focuses on retail, including lending and asset appraisals.

In the past, Gordon Brothers has worked with jewelry brand Judith Ripka and independent jewelers like Hyde Park Jewelers and Lux Bond & Green, as per its website.

The retailer’s bankruptcy filing and eventual sale followed the departure of the high-end jewelry manufacturer and retailer’s CEO and co-founder Mordechai “Moti” Ferder in May.

Ferder resigned after a preliminary investigation by parent company Compass Diversified revealed “irregularities” in the retailer’s financing, accounting, and inventory practices, announced in an 8-K filing.

Compass Diversified, a private equity firm, acquired a majority interest in the retailer in 2021 for $256 million, with Ferder retaining 40 percent of Lugano Diamonds.

In June, Lugano Diamonds sued Ferder alleging fraud, concealment, constructive fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty.

Ferder is accused of concealing and misrepresenting the nature of select financial transactions, an allegation he denied in a statement shared by his lawyer in November.

“Mr. Ferder is confident that the judicial process will bring the full truth to light and that he will be vindicated,” his attorney said in a statement to National Jeweler.

Josh Gaynor, who has been serving as interim CEO of Lugano, told the Orange County Business Journal that he plans to stay with the company.

Founded in 2004 by Ferder and his wife, Idit, Lugano Diamonds currently operates seven stores in affluent cities like Aspen, Colorado, and Palm Beach, Florida. 

The stores have remained open during the bankruptcy proceedings.

Lugano recently closed its London boutique, as per court documents. It also said late last year that it planned to close its stores in Greenwich, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C., which were no longer listed on its website as of press time. 

The next hearing in the retailer’s bankruptcy case is scheduled for Feb. 3 at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in Wilmington.